The Los Angeles Clippers’ loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday left them in a difficult position heading into the regular season finale.
As noted by Janis Carr of The Orange County Register, Los Angeles must defeat Golden State to keep any realistic chance of moving up to the No. 8 seed alive.
Against the Blazers, the Clippers fell behind by 20 points early, fought back to briefly take control, but couldn’t hold on late and let the game slip away.
Because of that result, L.A. now needs both a victory and help elsewhere just to improve its standing and avoid entering the postseason in a vulnerable spot.
Head coach Tyronn Lue acknowledged the challenge but emphasized that the team is still in the fight.
“I mean, we just got to do it the Clippers’ way, the hard way every time. Never easy,” Lue said.
“We are still in it and we’re OK. And like I said, they beat us. They’re a good team and Tiago (Splitter, Portland’s interim coach) has done a hell of a job this season filling in. They played better than us.”
Pacific Notes: Green, Clippers, Allen, Williams https://t.co/PZll6g1TqT pic.twitter.com/gz8oE1QPZo
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) April 12, 2026
